HISTOPATHOLOGICAL SPECTRUM OF PEDIATRIC TUMOURS : A FIVE YEAR CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE CENTRE

Abstract

Background: Pediatric malignancies are one of the most common causes of childhood morbidity and mortality and are as diverse as those in adults and present a number of challenges for the pathologist. The aims and objectives are to study the clinical and histomorphological features of all pediatric tumors and categorize them as benign and malignant lesions. To compare the patterns of different tumors with other established studies and understand the epidemiology in our region. This study is a cross sectional study conducted in the Department Methodology: of Pathology at a tertiary care centre, which caters to the patients attending and referred from periphery. The records of all the tumours diagnosed histopathologically in children <18 years of age during a period of 5 years from July 2017 to June 2022 are retrieved and analyzed. A total of 160 tumors were seen in the age range of 2days to 18 years, wi Results: th 52.50% (84) occurring in boys and 47.50% (76) in girls. Benign tumors out numbered [83.75% (n= 134)] the malignant tumors [16.25% (n= 26)] . In the benign tumors, vascular tumors were most common, while in malignant category CNS tumors were most common. Conclusion: Pediatric oncology needs a much collaboration and a vigorous effort to reach International standards. This study is an attempt to provide a complete spectrum of childhood tumors diagnosed on histopathology which includes both benign and malignant tumors, while most of the previous studies have mainly focused on malignant tumors in children